Straight Lines
by keem
Summary: Next-gen. Silence gave Sonic a ethereal, ghost-like quality - it made him seem like a mere shadow of his former self, not quite there. It reminded her of when he was dead.


**A/N:** i think i might have been the only person who _didn't_ go "EW" at the whole SonicxElise love affair. i thought the interaction between the two was very sweet, and i was glad SEGA injected some emotion into a Sonic game for once. the ending was especially moving to me, and so i tried to pay my respects by doing my own interpretation of their feelings of the final scene in this fic. i took a few artistic liberties but i'm pretty happy with how it came out. hopefully this brings some other SonicxElise fans out of the woodwork. ;) enjoy! -keem

---

Wake me, up lower the fever

Walking in a straight line

Set me on fire in the evening

Everything will be fine

Lately I'm a desperate believer

But walking in a straight line

- Silverchair

"If we put out this flame, Solaris will never have existed," Elise said slowly, cradling the flickers of fire delicately between her cupped fingers. She regarded it for a moment, musing thoughtfully as the flame licked at the edges of the container it was captivated within. Such a tiny, seemingly harmless thing; so common, so easily overlooked; and yet it held such a deadly secret. It was hard for her to believe that such a small, mistakenly minute thing was capable of such destruction and evil. Had this tiny element really been the cause of all of their grief and suffering? "Then we will never have to worry about the Flames of Disaster, right?" She paused, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. 

"But then our encounter... will never have happened." 

She turned towards Sonic for assistance. The blue hedgehog had been strangely quiet throughout her monologue and now, more than anything, she wanted to hear his voice. Silence gave Sonic a ethereal, ghost-like quality - it made him seem like a mere shadow of his former self, not quite there. It reminded her of when he was dead.

"You and I... will never meet."

_Sonic_, she willed. Please. _Talk to me._

But he didn't appear to have anything to say. He seemed to have been struck by the sheer magnitude of the situation just as she did. His brilliant green optics were unreadable in the dark, but he gave a small nod, and she instantly knew that _he_ knew where she was going with all this. He understood, and he had already accepted what was going to happen. He had given into the inevitable.

But could she?

"It will have never happened." 

It was hard to believe that in such a small amount of time Sonic had drawn her in - captivated her, ensnared her. She had never been so uniquely fascinated, so _touched_, by an individual before, anthromorphic hedgehog or otherwise. She loved everything about him - his blatant, almost cliched heroism; his carefree attitude; his natural leadership qualities; his positivity, his strength, his smile, his _laugh_.

He was everything she could never be. He was a free spirit, whereas she would always be trapped within the suffocating restrictions of royalty, forced to be demure and polite and reserved. She admired him, aspired to be brave and straight and true, just like him. 

And she was about to give him up. The Flames of Disaster and Sonic could not exist in harmony, and so now, she must choose. As her stomach wrenched up painfully, she became even more acutely aware that she was about to lose this - lose everything, lose _him_.

Still, he did not seem to have the words. He simply _looked_ at her. And the glittering brilliance of his stare was overpowering enough that she had to resist the urge to look away. 

"I... to tell the truth..." 

She loved him, with a fiery intensity that rivaled the sheer velocity of that belonging to the Flames of Disaster. It was a tangible, physical thing - the white-hot adrenaline in her veins, the flutter in her stomach, the hammering of her nervous heart - that was all for him. She _loved_ him. She would do anything for him - she would forsake them all, turn her back on the world - just to be with him. He was worth that to her - he was worth _everything_ to her.

She felt the tears begin to fall as she suddenly exploded, "I don't care what happens to the world!"

Her voice echoed hollowly off of the walls and she bowed her head. She felt a unique mixture of feelings, ranging from despair to grief to defiance to shame. She wanted everything, and yet, it seemed like she could have nothing. Sonic, to her, would return to a shadow - worse still, he would not even be a_ ghost _of a memory. He would never be. They would go about their separate lives, destined never to mingle, never to interact - never to _know _one another. There love would never be. And that was the most painful thing of all.

"Elise," Sonic said, and she felt his heavy hand on her arm. She looked up and saw that he was staring up at her, and there was something a lot like tears that clung to his lashes too. It was in this moment that she realized he felt exactly the same way. She knew that he loved her, too, and that giving her up was the hardest thing he would ever have to do. But this was apart of being a hero - he had to make sacrifices. He had to love, and lose, and go on about with his life, for the good of the world. He had to find the strength.

And she would have to find the strength too. 

It was in this silent exchange of words and ideals that she felt reassured. She felt a deep sadness within her, but a newfound courage and resolve. It was as though Sonic was channeling his spirit through her. They stared at one another, unblinking for a moment, and then Sonic, ever-so-gently, reached up and brushed his lips against her own in a very chaste kiss. "Just smile," he told her softly. 

And she did - because it was Sonic, and how could she do anything but? All she ever wanted was to be happy with him. And there was no denying that this moment existed, and will have always _have_ existed, even if they had erased it. She may not remember it, but it had _happened_. And that offered some solace, albeit twisted it may be.

"Let's do it together," he said, and she nodded dumbly. She held up the container one-handedly while her other reached blindly for his own. Their fingers laced together as she gripped him fiercely, her vision blurred with tears. Their eyes met and he nodded, and she concentrated on his face, trying to commit his features to memory, even though she knew it would be without avail. 

"I love you Sonic," she whispered, and together, they blew out the light.


End file.
